Firefly (novel)

Firefly
Author	Philippa Dowding
Language	English
Genre	Children, fiction
Published	2021
Publisher	DCB / Cormorant Books, Toronto
Publication place	Canada
Media type	Print (paperback), digital (eBook)
Pages	216
Award	Governor General’s Literary Award
ISBN	9781770865983

Firefly is a novel written by Canadian author Philippa Dowding, and published in 2021 by DCB / Cormorant Books in Toronto, Ontario. It won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for Young People’s Literature - Text.^[1]

Plot

Firefly is a thirteen-year-old girl looking for a new home after police take her unstable and violent mother away. She is discovered living in the park across from her mother's home and is forced by social services to live with her Aunt Gayle, owner of the Corseted Lady Costume Shop. While Firefly adjusts to having a roof over her head, she develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sets out on a quest to discover her true identity.

Reception

Firefly was generally well received in Canada. The Governor General’s Literary Award Peer Assessment Committee for the 2021 English-language awards wrote "Firefly will shine for readers and resonate long after they close this quietly powerful book.”^[2] Teachers Guide at the 49th Shelf listed the novel for grades 4 to 7 in English Language Arts, and grades 6 to 8 in Social Science and Humanities.^[3]

Awards

Awards for *Firefly*
Year	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	Governor General's Award for Young People’s Literature - Text	Winner	^[1]^[4]^[5]
2022	Forest of Reading Red Maple Award	Nominee	^[6]
	IODE Violet Downey Award	Shortlist	^[7]
	Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award	Winner	^[8]
2023	MYRCA Northern Lights	Shortlist	^[9]
2023	Rocky Mountain Book Awards	Shortlist	^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b "Awards: Governor General's Literary Winners; Porchlight Business Book Longlist". Shelf Awareness. November 19, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
^ "Firefly (Young People's Literature – Text – English)". Governor General's Literary Awards. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^ "49th Kids for Teachers". 49thshelf.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^ van Koeverden, Jane (November 17, 2021). "Young people's literature — text winner: Firefly by Philippa Dowding". CBC Arts. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^ Bresge, Adina (November 17, 2021). "Inuk author Norma Dunning wins $25K Governor General's fiction prize". Coast Reporter. Glacier Media Group. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
^ "Red Maple Nominees – Forest of Reading". forestofreading.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
^ "2022 Violet Downey - Short List". IODE Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
^ Wasser, Shoshana (June 22, 2022). "2022 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards presented to Brittany Luby, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley and Philippa Dowding". Ontario Arts Council. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
^ "2023 Northern Lights Nominees". Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
^ "2023 Archives". Rocky Mountain Book Awards. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[:0-1] "Awards: Governor General's Literary Winners; Porchlight Business Book Longlist". Shelf Awareness. November 19, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[2] "Firefly (Young People's Literature – Text – English)". Governor General's Literary Awards. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

[3] "49th Kids for Teachers". 49thshelf.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

[4] van Koeverden, Jane (November 17, 2021). "Young people's literature — text winner: Firefly by Philippa Dowding". CBC Arts. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

[5] Bresge, Adina (November 17, 2021). "Inuk author Norma Dunning wins $25K Governor General's fiction prize". Coast Reporter. Glacier Media Group. The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on October 30, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2021.

[6] "Red Maple Nominees – Forest of Reading". forestofreading.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

[7] "2022 Violet Downey - Short List". IODE Canada. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[8] Wasser, Shoshana (June 22, 2022). "2022 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards presented to Brittany Luby, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley and Philippa Dowding". Ontario Arts Council. Retrieved December 9, 2022.

[9] "2023 Northern Lights Nominees". Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

[10] "2023 Archives". Rocky Mountain Book Awards. Retrieved February 20, 2023.

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v t e Winners of the Governor General's Award for young people's literature — text
1980s	Morgan Nyberg, Galahad Schwartz and the Cockroach Army (1987) Welwyn Wilton Katz, The Third Magic (1988) Diana Wieler, Bad Boy (1989)
1990s	Michael Bedard, Redwork (1990) Sarah Ellis, Pick-Up Sticks (1991) Julie Johnston, Hero of Lesser Causes (1992) Tim Wynne-Jones, Some of the Kinder Planets (1993) Julie Johnston, Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me (1994) Tim Wynne-Jones, The Maestro (1995) Paul Yee, Ghost Train (1996) Kit Pearson, Awake and Dreaming (1997) Janet Lunn, The Hollow Tree (1998) Rachna Gilmore, A Screaming Kind of Day (1999)
2000s	Deborah Ellis, Looking for X (2000) Arthur Slade, Dust (2001) Martha Brooks, True Confessions of a Heartless Girl (2002) Glen Huser, Stitches (2003) Kenneth Oppel, Airborn (2004) Pamela Porter, The Crazy Man (2005) William Gilkerson, Pirate's Passage (2006) Iain Lawrence, Gemini Summer (2007) John Ibbitson, The Landing (2008) Caroline Pignat, Greener Grass: The Famine Years (2009)
2010s	Wendy Phillips, Fishtailing (2010) Christopher Moore, From Then to Now: A Short History of the World (2011) Susin Nielsen, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen (2012) Teresa Toten, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B (2013) Raziel Reid, When Everything Feels Like the Movies (2014) Caroline Pignat, The Gospel Truth (2015) Martine Leavitt, Calvin (2016) Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves (2017) Jonathan Auxier, Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster (2018) Erin Bow, Stand on the Sky (2019)
2020s	Eric Walters, The King of Jam Sandwiches (2020) Philippa Dowding, Firefly (2021) Jen Ferguson, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet (2022) Sarah Everett, The Probability of Everything (2023) Li Charmaine Anne, Crash Landing (2024)